Re: <f25r> Marsh St. John's Wort

["Dana F. Scott" <dfscott@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Jovra,
   Yes, I agree that this American plant is probably not the same as the one referenced in the VMS; however, it
is certainly possible, I believe, that plants from the Americas reached Europe prior to the writing of the VMS
(after 1492). I wouldn't put it past an botanist/alchemist/physician to get his feet a little wet to collect
important specimens. The picture of Triadenum virginicum and f25r are very close match. The tips of the leaves in
one are a bit more rounded than in the other. One is a cut plant and the other is rooted. Buds at the bases of
the leaves are arranged a little bit differently. I can't quite decide if the leaves in the VMS are cerrated or
not. So yes, there is certainly room for further investigation here. Thank you for your comments.

Regards,
Dana

Jovra wrote:

> Re-Hello Dana,
>
> Earlier, you mentioned the following link (TRIADENUM VIRGINICUM)
> with a picture to be compared with <f25r> :
>
> http://www.csdl.tamu.edu/FLORA/dcs420/a/hdw23109902s.jpg
>
> I have several comments about Triadenum virginicum.
>
> First, here is another view of Triadenum virginicum :
> http://www.portableherbarium.com/Triadenum-virginicum.jpg
>
> Second, I see some arguments in favor of :
> <f25r> does not represent Triadenum virginicum :
>
> For instance, a serious Finnish botanical website mentions no
> European name, but only an American one for this plant :
> http://www.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/plants/magnoliophyta/magnoliophytina/magnoliopsida/clusiaceae/hypericum/
> And all the sites mentioning "TRIADENUM VIRGINICUM" considered this
> plant
> to be only North American.
>
> Third, at page :
> http://www.sel.barc.usda.gov/Coccoidea/aphid/hyalo.htm
>
> One can read ...   a semiaquatic herb called Triadenum virginicum
>  (formerly in the genus Hypericum).
> But there all several web sites sayinf that this plant is
> semi-aquatic !!!
>
> So, is it realistic to imagine some alchemists went culling plants in
> marshes ?
> I have absolutly no idea of the pertinence of this argument. All I can
> imagine is that it is less easy to gather semi-aquatic plants.
>
> As it was said, f25r is not easy to examine !
>
> I always use www.google.com, because most of the time, it retrieves more
> documents than the other search engines !
>
> As a main conclusion, I feel that Triadenum Virginicum is exclusively an
> indigenous American plant.
>
> So, now it remains to find another identification for <f25r>  !!!!
>
> --Jovra

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